


Three Days

by Griddlebone



Category: Kino no Tabi | Kino's Journey - All Media Types
Genre: Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-01-06 10:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Griddlebone/pseuds/Griddlebone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles and ficlets based on Kino's journeys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Deep Freeze

The winter wind brings with it a bitter chill. The traveler revels in it, though her motorrad complains. Long ago, when she had another name, the traveler might have complained, too. But now she understands the stark beauty of winter.

Trees loom dark and bare along the roadside, but when the ice encrusts them they shine. Snow drifts deep on every side, glittering white, forming strange shapes, going wherever the wind blows it... the same wind that turns the traveler's breath into white clouds. Animals have left tracks across the road, leaving behind who-knows-what, heading who-knows-where.

Kino breathes winter's chill in deep, lets it go. A heartbeat passes silently: a frozen moment. She lowers her goggles and revs the engine. It's time to move on.


	2. Tranquil

As one day turns into two and the second day slips quietly into the third, she starts to feel uneasy. Stay in one place too long, and it might be the last place you see. You might find yourself happy there. You might settle down. You might not be a traveler anymore.

She rejects that fate, but sometimes Kino lets that feeling build just to see what it's like. But no matter how much she longs to stay, by the end of the third day she's always on her way again.

On the road, her heart finally feels tranquil again.


	3. Anticipation

The road ahead loops and twists its way down the hill, disappearing among trees tinged with the first autumn gold. Away in the distance, it emerges again and forks, and the one road becomes two.

The traveler and her companion pause at the top, taking in the view… and the possibilities. Two roads lie ahead, but from here it's impossible to tell whether either of those paths heads toward happiness or heartache.

She waits a moment longer, despite her companion's impatient protest, savoring the anticipation. Two roads lie ahead, and there's only one way to find out where they lead.


	4. Ghosts

The place doesn't look haunted anymore. The traveler isn't exactly surprised to find that much has changed, that nature has recovered and life has moved on. She never intended to come this way again. She hadn't planned to stop now, really.  
  
But she did.  
  
For one who knows where to look, the scars are still visible. This place was much different, once.  
  
She gazes upon it for a while. If things had happened differently…  
  
 _It seems like forever ago…_  
  
She leaves the road and takes the motorrad with her, down a path that's almost disappeared. It seems like only yesterday.


	5. Maybes

Most places the road leads, gates are open. Travelers may enter unknown lands and journey onward to their hearts' content.

Sometimes the gates are closed and barred and the road runs on as if there were no gate at all. The locked gate will not open, so the traveler moves on.

The engine hums, the wheels run over the miles. Though they are left far behind, the locked gates remain.

What lies beyond them? Who knows. Explorations for another traveler, maybe.

What happens to them? They become fleeting memories, what-ifs and might-have-beens.

Maybe one day I'll come back this way.


	6. All the Way

Somewhere far ahead the road comes to an end. Between here and there, a million twists and turns. A thousand different lands, not one just like the last.

Can a traveler go that far in a single lifetime? Even with the most steadfast companion, maybe not. Internal combustion can only take you so far.

Would a traveler even want to go so far, to go all the way to the ends of the world?

The ever-present throb of the motorrad engine, the solitary freedom of the open road, the thrilling promise of sights yet unseen… _Yes_ , Kino thinks, and smiles.


End file.
